Robert Johnson looking to make impact in Year 3

Safety Robert Johnson at OTA on Wednesday. (Jae S. Lee / The Tennessean)

The Titans are expected to add another veteran safety prior to the start of the 2012 season, but until that happens, third-year player Robert Johnson is filling a pretty big role.

Johnson, who’s only been on the field three times in his first two years, is the third-most experienced safety on the depth chart behind starters Michael Griffin and Jordan Babineaux.

The 6-foot-2, 206-pounder, a fifth-round pick in 2010, has always looked the part of the rangy, ball-hawking safety. But injuries – including a hamstring problem last year – slowed his progress.

“He’s had injuries in the past that have hurt his development,” coach Mike Munchak said. “He’s a good-looking kid, he covers a lot of ground, and he’s big. He should be able to make plays for us. The key for him is to stay on the field and get reps because both years he’s been held back.

“He’s a guy you’re counting on, just like you are at other spots with those young guys stepping up … We have a group of them that we’re hoping will step up.”

Johnson, who totaled six interceptions as a senior at Utah in 2009, said he feels great health-wise so far in OTAs. He’s also encouraged by two other things: the fact that he’s working under the same defensive coaches for a second straight season; and the fact he’s going through OTAs for the first time – after last year’s were cancelled by the lockout.

“We’re not changing up the defense like we were (under a new coaching staff) last year, and that’s big,” Johnson said. “I’m just basically learning the details of it. We’re just meeting up and going over the stuff with (defensive coordinator Jerry Gray). He’s been helping me a lot, trying to understand some of the small details of the game.”

Johnson made one of the more memorable plays of Thursday’s OTA, jumping high to intercept a deep Rusty Smith attempt. Gray said afterward that Johnson “has looked great to me.”